There is a Korean dish that holds a special place in the Family Chow history of dining out.
Many years ago, not long after trying Korean cuisine for the first time in Chicago, Mom zeroed-in on a favorite menu item – Bibimbap. It’s a delicious blend of matchstick-sliced, seasoned veggies and beef sitting atop a generous portion of rice, all topped with a lightly fried egg and mixed table side with gochujang – a spicy chili paste. Mom would always count on taking a good portion of Bibimbap home to enjoy the next day, except for the two times when she was eating for two. Bibimbap turned out to be a delicious way to confirm the good news that we were expecting.
Fortunately for us, a Korean restaurant, Namu, opened in Colonie in November. It was time to re-introduce Bibimbap to Daughter and Son. We picked a slow Sunday afternoon and headed over to Central Avenue. Despite its strip mall exterior, the interior of Namu is pleasantly modern with neutral colors and interesting textural details. Each table is set for two or four with a built in grill in the center. They do have a room in the back of the restaurant for larger parties. We noticed several unique touches including stainless steel chopsticks and napkins stamped with a Namu chop.
We were happy to see that Namu’s menu is uncomplicated with a manageable number of options within each of several categories: stews and soups, noodles, rice, hot pot and barbecue. Familiar meats and seafood are featured alongside some unfamiliar offerings including pork belly, jowl and tongue.
There were appetizers such as scallion pancakes, edamame and our pick, Gyoza ($6). A couple of cold noodle salads were in their own category along with a drink menu that featured sodas imported from Mexico and several teas. The soups and stews included a Kimchi version made with the spicy fermented vegetable and another with tofu. Mom found and ordered her Bibimbap ($13) while Dad, Son and Daughter opted to split two orders of barbecue – spicy pork ($19) and bulgogi ($25). We made note of the hot pot choices where various items (fish cake, veggies, seafood and meats) are cooked table side in a pot of boiling water. We also noted the helpful stars, rating certain dishes as “spicy” or “very spicy”.
We didn’t wait more than a couple of minutes before our server brought over complimentary Banchan – several side dishes meant to be shared – along with salads. The fresh romaine lettuce, julienned carrots and red onions were simple but refreshing with the homemade gingery dressing.
The table filled up fast as our main courses arrived before we polished off the last of the Gyoza and Banchan. Our friendly server set up the grill in our table and proceeded to cook the Bulgogi and then on a fresh grill, the Spicy Pork.
Mom admired and quickly dug into her steaming hot stone bowl of Bibimbap. Although tempted to thoroughly mix the egg and rice in with the veggies and spicy sauce, Mom left a layer of rice at the bottom of the bowl. This resulted in a crispy treat at the end of the meal. Thumbs up for Namu’s Bibimbap! Kids and Dad were equally happy with the thin slices of “smoky”, mildly sweet rib eye and tender, “not-too-spicy”, pork. We were pleasantly surprised when our server brought some lettuce to use as a traditional wrapper for rice and meat.
For dessert, we split two orders of soft serve ice cream, one Green Tea and one curiously named, Milk ($5 each). They were a nice finish to the meal, especially topped with a less familiar drizzle of honeycomb.
Overall, we were very excited to discover Namu. The service was friendly and efficient, especially good considering they’ve been open only a few months.
The Family Chow hails from the Capital District and review area restaurants based on service, food and family friendliness.
